I walked outside that morning only to water the flowers and see if the cats had dumped the trash again, as they sometimes did. However, a terrible stench hit me as soon as I opened the gate. My chest constricted and my tongue tasted metallic from its intensity.
I froze after taking a few steps. Something was moving on the ground near the flower bed.
Something crimson and slimy, as though it had been inverted, lay in front of me. The smell of rotting flesh was as if someone had concealed a dead animal close by. I recoiled in shock, my heart thumping and my mind racing with the worst scenarios.
“What is that? A larva? A weird animal? An alien’s remains? — I was unable to understand it.
I took a picture with my phone and began looking up answers online while grimacing at the stench.
I got strange and unnerving responses when I entered “red slimy thing, smells like rot” into the search field. When I realized what it truly was, I was appalled.The first comment’s continuation
The initial outcome was as follows:
“The Devil’s Fingers, or Anthurus archeri, is an alien fungus.”
The existence of this fungus was confirmed. It originated in Tasmania and Australia and has since spread all over the world.
It appears to be a white egg at first, then red tentacles that resemble fingers or claws quickly emerge from it.
To draw flies, which disperse its spores, these tentacles are coated in slime and release a foul stench of rotting flesh.
When people first encounter it, they frequently believe they have discovered the remnants of an extraterrestrial being. Some even make emergency service or police calls.
It’s only a fungus, though. Strange, alive, and possibly one of nature’s most horrifying creations.
I’ve avoided that location ever since. I no longer water the flowers there.
The “Devil’s gift” is best left alone, so let it develop.
